This is part 2 of my conversation with legendary engineer/producer Mark Howard. This episode picks up right where we left off, as we continue discussing sessions with Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and get into Tom Waits and Iggy Pop. Be sure to listen to Part 1 first and then dive into this one!

Mark doesn’t have a website, but he is quite active on social media, so you can find him there. Enjoy Part 2!

This season is brought to you by our main sponsors Larivée Guitars, Audeze, Izotope, Fabfilter, and Chase Bliss.

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Season 9 kicks off with an epic 2-part conversation with engineer/producer Mark Howard. Mark has been behind the console for some of the greatest and most sonically interesting albums of the past 40 years - Emmylou Harris “Wrecking Ball”, Dylan’s “Time Out Of Mind”, Willie Nelson’s “Teatro”, Chris Whitley, Neil Young, Tom Waits, Lucinda WIlliams and many more. While he is most often associated with Daniel Lanois as his engineer, Mark has gone off on his own to become one of the most respected producers in the business. It’s quite a run for yet another kid from Hamilton, Ontario whose career kicked off creating the sonics for The Neville Brothers classic “Yellow Moon” and went on from there. We get into some of his many projects, and talk about some of the interesting locations that he and Lanois set up shop in over the years. There’s some fascinating stories here and quite a few of them I’d never heard before, even as a total music nerd. This was a hefty conversation, so it’s broken into 2 parts. Part 2 will come out 1 week from today.

Mark doesn’t have a website, but he is quite active on social media, so you can find him there. Be sure to check out his 2 books and look for the new documentary film about his incredible career. Enjoy Part 1!

This season is brought to you by our main sponsors Larivée Guitars, Audeze, Izotope, Fabfilter, and Chase Bliss.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ken Coomer joins me on the podcast today. Ken is a fantastic drummer, producer, and studio owner, as well as one of the few musicians I know that is actually from Nashville! Ken is well-known as the original drummer for Wilco, as well as the last for Uncle Tupelo, bands that literally defined the alt-country genre in the mid-90’s. But before that, Ken came up in the punk and alternative rock scene here in Nashville with his band Clockhammer, and since leaving Wilco in 2002, he has had an incredible career as a studio drummer and producer, operating most recently out of his studio just a few blocks away from me in East Nashville called Cartoon Moon Recording. Ken was heavily involved in the recording of Uncle Tupelo’s classic “Anodyne”, as well as the Wilco albums “FM”, “Being There”, “Summerteeth”, “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” and the “Mermaid Avenue” projects with Wilco and Billy Bragg. After his run with Wilco, Ken returned to Nashville to try his hand at session work and producing. He’s played with and recorded on albums for Steve Earle, Will Hoge, Al Green, Tim Finn, Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris and many more. He’s also had an incredible run producing some huge Spanish artists, which is an intriguing left-turn that his more recent career has taken, with artists like Chetes, and AppleTree - albums that were huge in Mexico and Columbia.

It was great to have Ken drop in to speak about all of this amazing history. You can get all the latest info on Ken at kencoomermusic.com - enjoy my conversation with Ken Coomer!

This season is brought to you by our sponsors Larivée Guitars and Fishman Amplification

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Visit us at: www.makersandshakerspodcast.com

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On the show today is singer, songwriter, fiddle player and now producer, Maya DeVitry. Maya is an incredible musician and someone I’ve been lucky enough to be involved with in a number of projects with over the last few years. Originally from Pennsylvania, Maya is known by some for her work with her old band, The Stray Birds, and some from her more recent solo recordings and touring. She has released 4 solo albums since 2019 and the latest is an amazing album that she self-produced, called “The Only Moment” which came out late last year. She has an incredibly powerful and expressive voice and has worked hard at developing her unique delivery, along with her exceptional songwriting skills. Maya spent a good deal of time emersing herself in bluegrass music as a youngster and became an accomplished fiddle player, which led her to studying at Berklee, but while there, veered more into the world of songwriting and that has been her focus ever since. While The Stray Birds were an excellent vehicle for her to begin her career, it wasn’t until she left the band that she really came into her own as a performer and writer. It’s an interesting story and it was great to get a chance to talk to her about it, how she took the plunge into finally embracing a solo career, making her latest record, and how she’s navigating a hefty touring schedule on top of also now producing records for other artists.

You can get all the latest info and her tour dates at mayadevitry.com - Enjoy my conversation with Maya DeVitry!

This season is brought to you by our sponsors Larivée Guitars and Fishman Amplification

You can join our Patreon here to get all episodes ad-free, as well as access to all early episodes.

Visit us at: www.makersandshakerspodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Songwriter, blues guitarist and singer Chris Smither joins me on the show today. I had the pleasure of meeting Chris and playing with him this past summer at a festival, and he really was a force of nature. He had an incredible groove between his guitar lines and his powerful foot, all brought together with a voice that has developed so much character over the years it just oozes out of him. Chris grew up in New Orleans, but as you’ll hear, doesn’t totally identify musically with his hometown. He’s spent most of his career based out of the Massachusetts area, and developed his style and sound in the folk clubs of Boston and Cambridge. His songwriting style owes as much to others from that era and scene as it does to blues songwriters like Lightnin’ Hopkins, Mississippi John Hurt and Skip James. He manages to pull something off which I think is difficult and very unique - he’s developed a style of songwriting that seems to be right out of that era of the classic folk/blues tradition, but without being even the slightest bit derivative of those artists that came before him. He wrote the songs “Love Me Like A Man” and “I Feel The Same” that became staples in Bonnie Raitt’s career and repertoire, not to mention Diana Krall also cutting “Love Me Like A Man”. His recording career began in 1971 with the album “I’m a Stranger, Too!” at which time he was label-mates with Townes Van Zandt. He’s been a prolific artist ever sonce then, with a few personal low times where he shied away from making new records. But since the 90’s he’s been extremely consistent with a new record every year or two. His latest is called “All About The Bones” and is one of his best. Chris is one of those rare artists that just seems to keep getting better, even into his 80’s. I had a great conversation with him from his home on a rare break from the road, and we had a chance to dig into all of his history and record-making process. You can keep up with Chris and all his latest news and extensive touring over at smither.com - please enjoy my conversation with Chris Smither!

This season is brought to you by our sponsors Larivée Guitars and Fishman Amplification

You can join our Patreon here to get all episodes ad-free, as well as access to all early episodes

The show’s website can be found at www.makersandshakerspodcast.com

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Legendary drummer Willie Cantu is on the show today, the sole surviving member of the ultimate lineup of one of the greatest ensembles of all time - Buck Owens’ Buckaroos. I’ve talked about the Buckaroos on this show a number of times - they keep coming up in discussions with various folks, and I’ll say it again that I think that mid to late 60’s lineup is as electrifying a band as any band of that era, no matter what genre. That lineup of Buck, Willie on drums, Don Rich on guitar, fiddle and vocals, Tom Brumley on steel and Doyle Holly on bass were like a finely tuned Ferrari in their heyday. They looked slick and they played and sang like no one else, anywhere. Songs like “Together Again”, “I Don’t Care”, “Open Up Your Heart”, “Sam’s Place” and so many classic albums defined the sound of Bakersfield country which was in stark contrast to the smooth sounds coming out of Nashville in those days. Their influence can be heard directly on everyone from the Beatles to CCR, Gram Parsons to Dwight Yoakam. Willie is an accomplished jazz drummer, and while he was in one of the great country bands of all time, it’s very evident that jazz is his real love. He’s from Corpus Christi, Texas, and joined the Buckaroos when he was 17 in 1964. We had an epic visit and I did have to edit it way down, even though this sucker still clocks in at about 2 hours. Maybe we’ll do a part 2 somewhere down the line! For some essential listening, be sure to check out the 2 Buck Owens live albums that feature Willie - The Carnegie Hall Concert and Live in Japan! They are both amazing documents of a band in their prime. After the Buckaroos, Willie has been involved in some very interesting jazz and improvisational music, which you can check out here. Willie doesn’t have a website and is being more selective about his gigs these days, but if you’re in Nashville, keep your ear to the ground and maybe you’ll catch him playing at a jazz club or Robert’s Western World. you never know! So now, please enjoy my conversation with Willie Cantu!

This season is brought to you by our sponsors Larivée Guitars and Fishman Amplification

You can join our Patreon here to get all episodes ad-free, as well as access to all early episodes

The show’s website can be found at www.makersandshakerspodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guitarist and session ace Richard Bennett joins me on the show this week. Originally from Phoenix, Richard spent the first big chunk of his career in the 70’s LA studio scene, before moving to Nashville in the 80’s where he’s been a mainstay in studios ever since. Richard is known as one of the ultimate sidemen and spent 17 years in Neil Diamond’s band, playing on all of his records and tours from ’71 to ’87. Richard has had another long-term sideman gig playing guitar in Mark Knopfler’s band since '94, and that continues to this day, touring in his band and playing on all of his records, including the latest “One Deep River” from this year. Aside from those impressive long-term gigs, Richard has played on countless sessions and gigs for artists like Roseanne Cash, Marty Stuart, Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Rodney Crowell, Iris Dement, and Waylon Jennings. He also loves to write and record his own music, and is constantly working on the next set of tunes to get into the studio to document. His latest is called “Talltale Tunes” and it’s a killer record of great playing, tone and creativity. Richard is also an in-demand producer and has helmed an impressive list of albums in the last few decades as well. He had a huge role in the Nashville session scene of the 80’s and 90’s that continues to thrive, and I loved getting a chance to hear about that era of Nashville. I’ve spent the last year playing in a band with Richard called The Volcano Brothers, playing all 1920’s and 30’s Hawaiian music, with Richard playing ukulele. While we just play tiny local gigs around Nashville with that band, I still get to see and hear Richard’s amazing touch on his instruments, and the dedication and the preparation that he puts into every show, no matter how small! He’s an incredible musician, an encouraging band-mate, and an inspiring person to be around, and we had a very enjoyable conversation about his history in music and the recording studio. You can get all the latest on Richard at richard-bennett.com - Enjoy my conversation with Richard Bennett!

This season is brought to you by our sponsors Larivée Guitars and Fishman Amplification

You can join our Patreon here to get all episodes ad-free, as well as access to all early episodes

The show’s website can be found at www.makersandshakerspodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jen Gunderman is one of the great keyboard players currently working out of Nashville. She is always busy in recording studios and venues around town with all kinds of bands, but is also on the road as a member of Sheryl Crow’s band, a gig she’s held for over 10 years now. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Jen now and then over the past number of years, always in the studio, and she always shows up to a session with great ideas and energy, raring to go. Her path to this point in her career is a very interesting one, as she grew up playing piano in church, made her way through college and had a stint working for the last gasps of the late 80’s/early 90’s major label scene, working in the offices at Columbia/Sony Records in New York from 1992-1994. Jen jumped ship from that world and landed a gig as the keyboard player for The Jayhawks. She spent a couple of years in the band, touring and recording before eventually landing in Nashville with her husband, guitarist Audley Freed. Jen found her way into session work, landed a job treaching music history at Vanderbilt (which she continues with today) and when she’s not out with Sheryl Crow, she keeps very busy playing with local bands and artists all over Nashville. Jen is a killer piano player, but also knows how to lean into a B3 with the best of them. She plays a mean Wurlitzer, and can also come up with wildly creative soundscape parts as well. Jen’s studio career has brought her into the studio and on stage with artists like Kris Kristofferson, Roger McGuinn, Willie Nelson, Loretta Lynn, The Dixie Chicks, St. Vincent, Emmylou Harris and many more. You can get all the latest info on Jen at jengunderman.com

This season is brought to you by our sponsors Larivée Guitars and Fishman Amplification

You can join our Patreon here to get all episodes ad-free, as well as access to all early episodes

The show’s website can be found at www.makersandshakerspodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Singer, guitarist, jug-band pioneer and songster Jim Kweskin joins me on the show today. I can’t tell you how many times I heard Jim’s name before I ever heard his music. To the generation before me, he was a total legend, and the Jim Kweskin Jug Band was very influential to many musicians who grew up in the 60’s and 70’s. Jim came up in the Boston/Cambridge area and The Jug Band was legendary around those parts and eventually across America. Old blues, jug and string band music was considered old fashioned at that point in time, and Jim spearheaded its return and kicked off a musical revolution that inspried bands like the Lovon’ Spoonful and The Grateful Dead (don’t forget they started off as a jug band too). With bandmates like Geoff and Maria Muldaur, Bill Keith, Mel Lyman and Fritz Richmond, the Jug Band was signed to a major label, sold thousands of records and toured across the country tirelessly between 1963-1970. They turned countless young musicians on to the music of artists like Mississippi John Hurt, Blind Boy Fuller and the Mississippi Sheiks.

Jim has continued making records and performing under his own name and has just put out a rerally cool album called “Never Too Late”, which is mostly duets with some of his friends on vocals like Maria Muldaur, Meredith Axelrod and many more.

I won’t go too in depth on his bio here because in the interview, he actually had a bio preopared and read it to me, which you’ll hear on the show. It’s a first “written statement” for the podcast! I think you’ll dig that part of the conversation. You can get all the latest info on Jim at jimkweskin.com - Enjoy my conversation with Jim Kweskin!

This season is brought to you by our sponsors Larivée Guitars and Fishman Amplification

You can join our Patreon here to get all episodes ad-free, as well as access to all early episodes

The show’s website can be found at www.makersandshakerspodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.